It was time to pack up the car and bid farewell to Tivat. Today’s agenda included driving around Kotor Bay and visiting the Ostrog Orthodox Monastery.
From Tivat, we headed towards Kotor Bay, which was only about a fifteen-minute drive away. This time, there was no traffic jam, and the journey through the tunnel went smoothly. At this point, we bypassed the center of Kotor since we had already explored it earlier, and our intention now was to drive almost all the way around Kotor Bay itself. This was definitely a good idea; the bay is truly beautiful, with the road winding along the turquoise sea surrounded by mountains. We kept stopping along the way to admire the scenery. There are also a few small villages along the route, so you can find some places to buy snacks or supplies.
Our starting point for the Kotor Bay tour was basically the center of Kotor, and the endpoint was here, from where we turned towards Ostrog Monastery. Although we only covered 23 kilometers, it took quite a while because we kept stopping to admire the views.
From Kotor Bay to Ostrog Orthodox Monastery
From Kotor Bay, we headed towards the Ostrog Orthodox Monastery, a monastery built into the rock face. The monastery is one of Montenegro’s most popular attractions after Kotor Bay and looks beautiful in pictures, so we pointed the BMW inland. The distance was 94 kilometers, but mostly on mountain roads, so it took some time. The scenery along the way was breathtaking, making the journey quite enjoyable.
As we neared our destination, the remainder of the journey involved driving up narrow and winding mountain roads. Here, you had to be vigilant because although the destination is popular, the road leading there hasn’t expanded to accommodate the increased traffic. The road is very narrow, with traffic going in both directions and a cliff on one side and a steep drop on the other.
Once we reached higher ground, we came to a larger parking area. It was somewhat questionable whether we should continue driving higher or leave the car there. After some consideration, we decided to continue driving upwards, which turned out to be the right decision as there were more parking spaces further up. So, if you don’t feel like walking all the way up, there are still parking spaces relatively high up (the last small section of serpentine road on the map). There was a small parking fee here, and there were toilets, although they were quite basic.
From the parking lot, we started walking towards the monastery. The path uphill involved climbing stairs through the forest, or if preferred, you could take the maintenance road. We chose the more comfortable forest path. The stairs were steep and slippery, especially since it had just rained before we arrived, and the path wasn’t perhaps the best maintained. It’s a good idea to wear proper shoes.
At the top, the beautiful monastery loomed just as we had seen in pictures. We knew the place was popular, but the number of people surprised us; there were really a lot of people. The area outside the monastery is small but beautiful. Our intention was to also go inside the monastery, but the queue was so long and didn’t seem to be moving, so we ended up just admiring the place from the outside and then headed back to the car. Naturally, the monastery is a religious site, so remember to dress respectfully, covering shoulders and knees.
Heading Peacefully Towards Croatia
Our next plan was to drive peacefully into Croatia. We didn’t have accommodation booked yet and had decided to do it once we were in Croatia because internet usage in Montenegro wasn’t included in our plans. So, from here, we headed towards the Croatian border, which was 128 kilometers away. At the same time, we drove the remaining stretch of the Kotor Bay coastal road.
Now it was time to bid a fond farewell to Montenegro, which bid us farewell with a beautiful sunset. Overall, Montenegro really impressed us, and we’ll be back soon to explore the inland mountains properly.
At the border, there was a bit of a queue, which we waited in for a while, but otherwise, it went very smoothly, just passport stamps and onwards.
No Connection – Dependence on Mobile Data
At this point, it was already quite late in the evening, and tiredness began to set in. We anxiously waited for our phones to connect to the Croatian network so we could book a hotel. However, it seemed like this wasn’t happening, and we continued driving further from the border in hopes of getting the right network back. Eventually, we found ourselves at a gas station with Wi-Fi, only to realize that there were no available hotels within a reasonable driving distance.
At this point, frustration set in, and we ended up still going to ask at one hotel door, but there were no available rooms. We gathered our adventurous spirit and decided to make the best of it; after all, the BMW had comfy seats, so we decided to sleep in the car. We found a nice and safe-looking spot, where there was even a caravan nearby, and made ourselves comfortable for the night. Surprisingly, the night went quite well, and it was wonderful to wake up by the turquoise sea in the morning. 😍
